Automating Form Documents in
WordPerfect

by Kendall Callas

Most WordPerfect users have standard documents they use over and over -- form
letters,
boilerplate contracts, pleading templates, and re-usable formats (for letters, memos,
pleadings,
invoices, etc.). Here's a brief survey of advanced WordPerfect features (for DOS and
Windows)
with discussion of how they can help automate "fill-in-the-blank" forms.

Many users simply re-use a previous document to start a new one. It's simply a matter
of editing
the last letter to client XYZ, adding the current date, making the changes, then remembering
to
save it to a new filename. Unfortunately, this approach exposes you to 3 dangers:

Lost file. If one saves, but forgets to change the filename, the original document is
over-written and deleted!

Wrong date. It's easy to forget to add a new date. How much of a problem is it if
one of your
documents goes out with an old date?

Old information. In the helter skelter activity of your work day, it's difficult to
assure that all
the old text is deleted. Does it mean much to you if your letter includes an old RE: line or a
paragraph of old text? Obviously this becomes even more serious when constructing
pleadings.

While okay from time to time, if people in your office routinely create new documents
from old
ones, you will probably find the risk of error to be unacceptably high. Firms that do not
routinely
include this aspect of document creation in their WordPerfect training should correct their
procedures and tutor their users on this point.

Several effective tools avoid these vulnerabilities to error and help quickly create form
documents:
format files, merging, macros, templates, and markers.

FORMAT FILES

A format file is certainly the easiest solution. Simply store the reusable portion of a
document --
codes and text -- in a file and use that file as the kernel to begin new documents. It would
include
all the format codes needed and perhaps significant portions of text. For example, a Letter
format
file might end with a standard closing ("If you have any questions ...") and signature block
("Very
truly yours", etc.); an Envelope format file might begin with a return address; a Memo
format file
might start out with the ubiquitous "To:", "From:", "Subject:", and "Date:"; a Pleading
format file
might include a caption, page numbering, signature block, even the skeleton for a Table of
Authorities.

MERGING

Merge documents offer more than format files, but require that you start in a special
way. You
can't just retrieve them, you must merge them (in WordPerfect for DOS, start with Ctrl+F9;
in
WordPerfect for Windows, start with Tools, Merge).

Merge documents provide two large advantages: First, once the merge has created the
document
on-screen, it does not yet have a filename, so the risk of accidentally saving the completed
document back on top of the form file is completely avoided. Tip: Even if using simple
format
files, take advantage of this feature; start by merging them instead of retrieving them.

The second advantage of merging is the power of merge codes. When creating a
merge
document, the Merge Codes menu offers commands to insert the current date, define and use
variables (to repeat an entry elsewhere in the document), and to include or "nest" other items
within the document (such as to call a macro, retrieve another document, or insert fields
from data
files).

TEMPLATES

The latest versions of WordPerfect (6.1 for DOS or 6.0/6.1 for Windows) include a
new feature
called Templates. These are as easy to edit as format files, are conveniently selected from a
menu,
and automatically avoid the risk of accidentally over-writing the form file. However, a
major
drawback of Templates thus far is that they cannot include merge codes.

Templates use an opening input screen to gather all the fill-in-the-blank fields in
advance, instead
of prompting the user for input within the context of the document. They come as a set of
over
50 desktop-published forms.

Templates automatically personalize themselves. Your personal details (name and
address, phone
numbers, etc.) and entries from an Address Book can be automatically inserted into template
forms. The Address Book is a real treasure. It is dramatically useful for creating letters and
faxes. Unfortunately, it is startlingly primitive in some ways. (For instance, it cannot sort
entries
by last name.)

Templates offer sophisticated control of macros. Though macros cannot be embedded
at specific
points in a document (such as in a merge document to offer a choice of names or phrases),
they
can be defined to trigger before or after certain actions, such as creating a table, printing,
opening
or exiting the Template, and opening, exiting, or switching to another document window.

MACROS

Macros are poor solutions for creating form documents because they are programs or
recorded
actions; they are not documents and cannot be easily edited, printed, or previewed as can
Templates or format files. Of course, they are helpful tools for launching a merge, offering
menu
choices to control vocabulary (He/She/It/They), counting the number of pages in a fax, etc.
Macros may be started manually by the typist, embedded within merge documents, or
defined to
be triggered in Templates.

STOP CODES

For form documents, the basic "stop code" is one of the most important functions. It
marks
locations in the document where the typist needs to insert information for the current task.
In
merge documents, depending on your WordPerfect version, this is done with the INPUT or
KEYBOARD merge code. Merge codes can also prompt the typist with a short message,
such as
instructions about what to type at each location.

MARKERS

A simple "fill-in-the-blank" marker may be best for your form documents if you can
do without
prompts and wish to avoid the complexity of Templates and merge codes. Using the format
file
approach, make a copy of an existing document that you often re-use. Edit the duplicate to
strip
out all the task-specific wording at each fill-in-the-blank location, replacing it with a simple
marker: XX (two X's). This low-tech marker has the advantages of being easy to create
and
search for.

By placing an XX marker at each blank the typist needs to fill in, using the form is
simply a matter
of searching for "XX", then typing in the entry appropriate to that location. The drawback
of this
approach is that it offers no message to instruct the user as to what to type, but most often
the
context is enough of a guide since the user can see the text where typing will be inserted.

Next month I'll present an easy to record macro to expedite the search and deletion of
the "XX"
marker.